CAPA offers deer camp humor, Michigan lore with Escanaba Oct. 22-24

By Hillary Grigonis Staff Reporter

ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT – Cast members for the Chesaning Association of Performing Arts Oct. 22-24 production of Jeff Daniels’ Escanaba in da Moonlight include (front row, left to right) Josh Tithof, Brett Russell, Alec Vondrasek, (back row, left to right) Ian Turnwald, Ethan Ziegler, Trevor Kimball and Jacob Bliss. Missing from the photo is Janelle Emmendorfer (TCC Photo By Hillary Grigonis). CHESANING –
Director Jason Woodworth said the Chesaning Association of Performing Art’s (CAPA) Oct. 22-24 dinner theatre production includes humor for the hunters and lore for the Michiganders—but guests do not have to be outdoorsmen to enjoy the humorous production.

“The show actually has some really cool sentimental moments,” he said. “,,,Even if you are not a hunter, you can’t help but love this family.”

Escanaba in daMoonlight
follows the Soady family in their quest to help Reuban (played by Trevor Kimball), known in Escanaba as the “Buckless Yooper,” bag his first buck at age 35. The play was written by Michigan native Jeff Daniels.

The deer camp humor begins at 6 p.m. as the beef pasties are served with performers waiting tables and sharing buck stories taken from area community members. The show begins at 7 p.m., followed by an intermission for dessert.

Woodworth said the production’s challenges so far have been replicating the real deer camp experience, from mastering the dialect to the actors’ quick timed quips.

“The Yooper dialect is a unique dialect to work with,” Woodwoth said. “They are all familiar with it, but we tend to over exaggerate it, so we need to try to keep it as natural as possible.”

Woodworth said the nearly all male cast includes some CAPA rookies that have impressed him with mastering the timing of their lines.

“We need to make sure that, when it comes to our different deer hunting experiences… it replicates the real experience as much as possible,” Woodworth said. The set will have the audience dining in the auditorium transformed into a deer camp cabin. Woodworth said the set was relatively easy to construct, but the crew has dedicated additional time into working in special effects like lighting and sound.

Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults and must be reserved in advance. Reservations may be made by calling (989) 845-2040, ext. 1147, and leaving your name, number of people attending and show night you wish to come to. Only 150 seats are available each night.